After All This Time
by annakaticfillion
Summary: He took her hand on his, with a wide smile on their faces. "I, Richard, take you, Katherine, to be my wife to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish; from this day forward until death do us part" And saying those, the placed the ring on the finger of his tearing, but smiley, fiance.
1. Chapter 1 - Prologue

Hello, all! This is my first Caskett fanfic, as you may notice =] The fanfic is being based on a gifset which the link is on my profile. I currently don't have a beta for this fanfic, but I'm accepting if someone wants to, just message me :] So for that, I apologize for the grammar errors that may appear - not so easy when English is second language. I'd also like to thank my friend Marisa(rookandheat on tumblr), who helped me with the title of the fic, thanks gurl! Without any further information, enjoy the chapter!

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_When Richard Castle entered the hospital room, his wife was holding a tiny package on her arms. Katherine B. Castle, as she had adopted the name, had a messy hair and a full happy smile on he face. It was almost impossible to hide how her heart was full of joy now. Passing through a frozen Rick, Martha and Alexis managed to reach Kate's bed and glance over the little thing on her lap._

_"She's so tiny!" Alexis said excitedly, running a finger through the fragile head._

_"Watch out, dear. Those break." Martha said with a low chuckle, although she was just as amazed to be a grandmother again. "She's adorable! I'm glad she looks like you, Kate."_

_"I think she has a lot of Castle." Kate teased with a grin to her husband, that stood on the door. "You're not coming in to see your daughter, Rick?" She laughed low too, to don't disturb the baby. "You know, without all the blood and crying."_

_Rick finally moved, nodding and grinning like a fool. He made space between Kate and Martha, who moved to the other side with Alexis with a roll of eyes._

_The father looked down at his new daughter. She was indeed so tiny. With a bit of hair and peaceful face, while she slept on her amazing mother's arms. He didn't blame her, he loved sleeping on those arms too._

_"She's beautiful." He gasped, happily. "Like you, Katie."_

_The couple exchanged a smile and Rick leaned in, kissing his love's forehead._

_"She has your eyes, though. I saw before she slept." Kate told them._

_"Lucky her!" Castle teased and the three women rolled eyes, making him laugh._

_"Shhhh." Martha said when she saw the baby move with his sonorous laugh. "Don't wake up the poor thing."_

_"But…" He pouted, not finishing to admit that he wanted his little girl awake. "Ok." Richard nodded, seeing Martha's look at him._

_"You'll have time with her, Rick." Kate told him with a kind smile, as she read his thoughts._

_"How are you naming her?" Alexis finally asked happy. After her jealousy passed a few months ago, she had been the more excited with getting a sister. Kate even agreed she could be the second godmother, since the first would be Lanie. "Have you decided now that you've seen her?"_

_"Yes." Richard said._

_"Yes?" Kate asked, with a grin._

_"Johanna. Johanna Castle Beckett."_

_Kate frowned slightly and rose a brow._

_"Beckett Castle." The woman said just as a teased and laughed, shaking her head soft. "I'm kidding. You serious though?" Richard then nodded. "I like it." She told him, happy they'd be naming her after her mother._

_"It's a great honor to have your name, little sister." Alexis grinned, telling the young sleeping child._

_"How about Johanna Martha?" Kate suggested as Martha seemed to start a dramatic sea of tears._

_"Indeed. It's a great honor to have those names, little baby." Martha said in a crying emotional voice, making Richard roll his eyes and Kate to laugh._

_"I didn't agree." Richard tried to interfere, but Kate shook his head._

_"That's the name."_

_"Ok." The man nodded, smiling after all._

_"Welcome to the world, honey." The mother said lovingly to her baby, caressing her small cheek._

—

Kate held her daughter tightly as she cried in the dark baby room. It wasn't clear who was crying though. The child indeed was, but Kate seemed to be trying to keep it, for the sake of her baby girl. The kid was sick. She had been sick for over a week and Kate didn't know what else to do to make that fever go away. All because Richard couldn't listen to her.

She told him many times not to take the girl to the Hampton's on that crazy weather that were settled down the past weeks. But he did, insisting it was his weekend with the baby and he wanted to go to the Hampton's to have fun with his daughter. She could bet what fun he had, leaving the poor kid with the nanny.

But Kate didn't want to think of how her ex-husband was living his bachelor life. It was none of her business anymore. Well, not until it got her daughter involved.

"Shhh, honey, don't cry. Mama is here." Kate whispered, rocking the two-years-old in her arms. The baby gave small coughs and cried again. The mother hated that, because the worse thing was to see her child in pain.

And the fear. The fear that a flu could grow to something bigger. She couldn't even consider losing her child for something so small. No, Kate couldn't even think that.

She told herself to think positive, her daughter would be fine in no time. In the meanwhile she reached for the phone, with the sobbing baby hugged against her chest.

"_Hello_?" A male groggy voice picked up on the other side of the line. "_Kate_?" He asked after hearing the soft crying.

"You better find a way to our daughter stop crying like she had been doing for a week since you got her sick in the Hampton's, exactly like I told you not to do because it'd happen." She shoot all at once, breathing just in the end.

"_W-What? She's sick? You didn't tell me…_" Richard asked confuse, scratching his eyes on the other side, as he sat up on his bed.

"I'm telling now." She groaned madly. "You're not gonna want to discuss it now, are you?"

"_No…_" He felt a bit threatened and forced against the wall, but it wasn't like that wasn't going on between them for over a year. "I'm going there now, ok? We can take her to the hospital."

"I've done that." The man was able to hear the sniff she let out. "She's not getting better, Richard…" Making a long pause, Kate took a deep breath. "I'm scared."

"_We take her to a better one, ok? Don't be scared, Kate. I promise she'll be fine._" Castle said with a soft lovingly voice, that even made Kate soften a little. But only lasted a second.

"She better be." Beckett said and turned off the phone on his face. Putting the piece away, she wrapped both arms around her daughter, sitting down in the chair with her.

"Your daddy is coming, everything is gonna be okay, honey." She told the child that she still rocked, although that felt a lot more as to calm herself.


	2. Chapter 2 - What we used to be

**Hello everyone! First of all, thanks for all the lovely followers and reviews this fanfic got. I apologize for the time it took me to update, but Holidays, vacation and a bit of writer's block got me going insane the last months. But I'm back at activity and hope you all enjoy. And would like to thank my new beta, kinkykbex (on tumblr) for the help s2.**

**Good reading ;)**

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Richard never really understood what happened between him and Kate. They were happy together, married with a lovely daughter, and suddenly things started to be hard to handle for her. And when she stopped believing on them, Rick did too. He never stopped loving her, but the man was giving her space, as he'd always tell Martha when she asked why he was doing it.

Sometimes he gave up fighting, not because it wasn't worthy, but because he always saw it wasn't going anywhere. Kate herself didn't want to fight. And, not like before, she made it very clear she didn't want him to fight for the walls she built around herself again.

But the more he stood apart from her and his daughter, the more he wanted to change that. Those moments, when she'd call him and he'd see her guard get down, he took that as a great opportunity to get in and try to make her see how much he cared and missed her.

He never cheated or flirted with other women after they got married though of course, there was some slip ups before when they were getting started in the dating part, like the date with that reporter. But they have all been not intentional. He wouldn't even think of other women that wasn't Katherine Beckett Castle. Or Nikki Heat, that turned out to be based on her. So he spent most of his time thinking about his wife, and the other part thinking about the character based on her.

Indeed things had changed between them when he had to stop working with her, because of the co-workers dating policy but it never meant that Kate didn't take work home and they spoke about it. What Rick couldn't remember was when Kate got so disconnected to him, to what they had before. None of it all mattered though, not at this specific moment where his daughter was so sick.

Standing at the front of her old apartment, from the times they still weren't together, Richard pressed the button of the apartment number. It made a ringing noise as the man tapped his fingers impatiently on his thigh. A "Yea?" answered the machine and he ran to press the button again and spoke.

"It's me, Rick- Castle" The man corrected and let go of the interphone. He received no answer, but the noise of the large front door being opened echoed on his ear. Richard sighed as he pushed the door, stepping in the building.

He took the stairs, since lately he had been exercising more, and her apartment was only in the second floor, it didn't seem like a tiring thing. When Rick got to the front of her door, it was already open for him. Which seemed quite odd coming from the cautious Kate Beckett.

The first thing he saw as he entered the living room was his daughter laying her head on her mother's shoulder. Johanna's eyes seemed tired, but unquiet, tearing up. There was nothing that killed him more than seeing his daughter on that state.

"How is she?" Rick asked as he stepped closer to Kate and Johanna. As an impulse, the child raised her head with the approach of them, leaning over the man when she was able to be sure it was her father.

"Sick." Katherine said quick and rude, reluctant on passing the child to Rick's arms. Not because she didn't like their close father-daughter relationship, the opposite actually, Kate was the first to encourage him and her to have time together because she believed that was important to a child, especially with divorced parents. But right now she was just so mad and worried with all that situation, that her protective motherly instincts told her to keep Johanna with her all the time.

"Kate." Richard slowly gave her a frown and sighed. It was good, although annoying sometimes, how he could now easily read her. He learned after all those years together, first as co-workers and friends, then later from boyfriend and girlfriend to husband and wife. The two had been through a long road together and it'd be odd if he didn't know her so easily. "She'll be okay. I promise… Let me hold her for a little while you prepare her bag. Let's take her to the doctor, and she'll be fine, ok?"

Reluctantly, Kate let his words and promises comfort her. They always did, even when she decided to divorce him. Rick never knew what happened, but he always stood by her side. She remembered perfectly how he hugged her tightly the day she asked for the divorce, apologizing for something he didn't even know or do; for something that was never his fault. He did it for the simple fact of comforting her, wanting to make her feel better. And that was the thing she loved most about Castle.

"I won't take long" Kate said as she placed a kiss on her daughter's head and handed him to her father.

"OK. We'll be waiting." Rick said with a nod and a small smile as Kate stood a few seconds looking at them before she left to the room. In the meanwhile, he managed to keep the girl quiet, resting calmly on his shoulder. He heard the small sniff from the baby, as he rocked her gently, murmuring words. "Daddy is here, my princess, and you'll be fine, ok? You will be healthy and good soon, and all this pain will go away…"

As her father spoke to her, Johanna straightened up her spine, looking at him with those huge eyes that were just like her mother's. She had her pacifier on her mouth and her tiny nose was red from the sickness and crying. The view amazed Rick, even if though seeing her in such a bad state also tightened his heart. It was impressive how she looked like Kate. And how smart she was, even if she was two and not speaking yet.

"You know daddy is here for you, don't you baby?" He asked, smiling at his daughter, that nodded and curled back on his neck. Castle held her tighter, rocking the child up and down slowly, as he whispered, "Daddy is here for you and mommy. Always…"

Kate arrived just in time to hear the last words of her ex-husband, although she pretended not to. Swallowing hard, she looked down on the floor in a need to not glance last word meant so much for them both, and it usually got her knees weak whenever she hears it from him. Something she didn't want to handle now.

"It's all ready." Holding the handle of Johanna's bag tightly, she managed to take a deep breath and look at him. The view of her loved daughter and the only man she ever loved would always make Kate smile, her being mad or not. It was the biggest proof that love did exist somehow, even if in some cases it didn't work the best way. She and Rick had divorced, but they did make that lovely girl in his arms, so it had been worthy of something.

"Alright, let's go." He waited for her to take the lead and followed her, still carrying a tired and unsleeping Johanna. They made their way to Rick's car in silence. There he placed Jo in the baby's chair he always had for her as Kate got in the passenger's seat.

He drove there safely, but quick, since the baby cried all the way there, making the ex-couple argue over taking her off that chair on not. They argued over small, stupid things, just like old times. It was some kind of masochist thing of Rick, if you though, that he liked that kind of things that reminded him of their past, of when they were married. Even if it was through fights. But it was only because even the fights had a reason and were solved out with them, since they'd always end up rolling in bed stealing kisses and moans. It was not that he liked to torture himself, or liked fighting with her, he just liked to think that at least they were like in the old times. And not cold and distant like now.

All their problems seemed to increase when the doctor was worried about Johanna's state.

"I'll need to do more exams, Rick." He told his close friend, in a wary voice.

"What? Other exams?" It was Kate who questioned him, in a desperate voice. "Rick, you promised she'd be fine… I swear you, if something happens to her…" She gasped, making a pause when she lost her breath. "I can't even think that. I don't even know what I'll do if I lose my baby…"

"Ms. Beck-"

"Kate." Richard interrupted the doctor and Kate, as he held the woman's shoulder, making that crying eyes look away. "Look at me." She did it reluctant with his demand. "Johanna will be alright. I promised you, and she will. This is just flu, it'll be ok." Slowly Kate softened, nodding at him and surprisingly throwing herself on his arms, hiding her face on his chest while the tears fell.

Rick had to admit to be surprised with that, but it was a moment he could not throw away. So he gently wrapped his arms around her, bringing her closer and making her feel safe. And Kate did feel safe. He was the main reason she did. There was not a moment where she hugged him that she didn't feel warm and safe, like that was her place.

The nurse came in a few minutes later, holding Johanna that now slept quietly, and following the doctor. Kate and Rick quickly pulled back, feeling far too awkward for being caught on that moment. The doctor that had cleared his throat, grabbed the exams on the table as Johanna was passed to Kate's arms.

"You keep it and bring on the next appointment. I've wrote down a prescription of two types of medicine that shall help her not feel any pain." As he gave the papers to Rick while speaking and glancing at Kate, he sighed as he understood the mother's concern. "She'll be alright, Ms. Beckett."

"I hope so… Thank you, doctor." Sweetly kissing her daughter's head, Kate nodded at him.

"Thank you." Rick said too, more in a brotherly way, tapping the men's back. "Sorry to bother you so late."

"Not a bother at all, Rick. Especially for your little girl." The man smiled over his friend, walking the two out of the room. "See you at the golf match next week?"

"That's for sure! You'll see the new club I got, soft and perfect hit." Rick said cheekily. Accidently, as he looked a bit to the side, Rick saw Kate rolling her eyes. Just like the old times.

When the two walked to the car and Rick helped her put their daughter on the back seat, Kate finally gave a truly relieved smile.

"Thanks." She mumbled, the corner of her eyes looking for him, before she could finally turn to Castle and be honest with him. "For being here with me.

"You don't need to thank me, Kate." Rick buckled Johanna up and caressed her cheek briefly before his eyes finally met with Kate's. "You know I…" Making a pause, he cleared his throat. "I'll always be here for you. And for our daughter too... Just because we're divorced doesn't mean that my feelings has changed. I still care about you like I did before."

Kate licked her lips slowly, nodding at him with a hard swallow. It was rough to face it, to know how much she had lost with Rick. They had a happy marriage, a happy family, and she gave up on all that because of her fear. Rick knew not even half of why they got divorced. She just pulled herself away for good, for the best of him and Johanna. Because she wouldn't be able to handle to see them suffering from her own fault. She ruined the happy family they had, and now she didn't know if they could build that again.

"I know, you're one of a kind, Rick…" Smiling, Kate glanced at her feet for a second. "Can I ask you a favor?"

"Sure, anything." Rick nodded, blinking a bit surprised, but listening carefully.

"Can you stay over tonight? Just in case she starts crying again?" Kate asked as she licked her lips again, feeling they went slightly dry. "I know how she gets calm when you're around…"

"Of course, there's no problem." The writer nodded, he knew Kate's couch wasn't one of the most comfortable ones, since he had been forced to sleep there many times while they had been dating whenever she thought he wasn't being a good boyfriend. But he would not dare to ask to share the bed with her. It'd feel far too awkward, that he was sure of. He could handle one day sleeping on the couch, for Johanna. And Kate. "Now let's go, you must be tired."

"And hungry… What do you think of ordering Chinese?" Kate smiled while walking to the passenger's seat and getting in the car. She was happy Castle had accepted, she felt lonely and scared with the things that were going on. But she couldn't tell him what was going on, so the best option was to use Johanna's sickness as an excuse. In the end, for whichever motive she was doing, it felt nice that he was going to be there.

"I'd love that." He nodded then, getting in the car and starting the same.

—

_The cry of the baby filled the whole house, together with the morning light of winter sun. Rick jumped in bed right away with the sound. The last time he had a baby at home was years ago when Alexis was still young. A lot had changed since then. He and Meredith got divorced, he sold quite a lot of best seller then he met Kate. They got married and had a baby together. But he had to admit not being used to it anymore. Not that the writer didn't like it, quite the opposite actually, having the little Johanna there was changing his life even more for the best. She and Kate were giving him a new meaning to happiness._

_Even though Kate had never been a mother, she seemed to be more peaceful about it than Rick. Every time the baby cried, she'd watch as he jumped and ran to her right away. Sometimes Johanna would be just going crafty on them to get attention, and Richard would give it all. It was sweet and cute, in fact, Kate loved to see her husband being a daddy again._

_She remembered quite well of when she got pregnant, how it worried her that it'd never be the same like it he had been with a Alexis. But the truth was that, even if she didn't know how he was with his first daughter, he was perfect with theirs. It didn't matter how it different he was with Alexis, because even if it was, he was the best father in the world to their baby girl._

_That morning when she saw him moving fast as a lion, Kate moved in bed slowly, yawning while she sat down calmly. By the time she cleared her throat and opened her eyes, Rick was already out of sight murmuring "I'll get her" that made her chuckle. Kate had an inside bet, that he was so fast on going to her when she cried because the more time she spent with him, the better. In the end the baby would always complain and throw her arms out to jump on her mommy's arms. So she didn't blame him wanting to make a bond with Johanna. A few minutes later, he'd always come with a crying baby, that probably wanted milk or just to be changed. When it was the second option, he'd take care of it in the mornings. But if it was the former, well, only Kate could solve that. _

_When he came back with Johanna, she cried out loud in Rick's arms, and as much as he looked cute trying to get her to calm down, Kate couldn't help but have her heart break a little just seeing her baby girl cry. _

_"Give her to me, Rick. She's probably hungry."_

_"Are you sure? Maybe she needs to be changed." He insisted and checked on her diaper that turned out to be clean. _

_"Okay, maybe not." Sighing, he passed Johanna to a grinning Kate. "Mom's, they get all the fun parts" he grumbled and Kate let a laugh escape, as she adjusted Johanna in her arms to breast feed her. _

_"That's because we got the boobs, honey." She joked with him, as to cool the air. Rick always seemed truly upset that sometimes he could just not calm her down._

_"I know, you have amazing ones." His words went out easily, not only because they were married, but also because Rick was just like that. And it always made her blush. She gave him a soft shake of her head while grinning._

_"Rick!"_

_"What? It's true, Kate"_

_Appreciating how his words made her blush even more, Rick chuckled and approached them. Seeing his daughter be breast feed made him smile lightly, it was such a beautiful moment for him. "See, she always stops crying with them… They're magical, honey."_

_Rolling her eyes, Kate let a sigh and laugh escape. "Why don't you sit here and get quiet, huh?" She suggested with a raised brow, watching him nod and make his way to the bed next to her, sitting quietly down._

_Although Johanna was concentrated on her morning meal, the moving made the little girl glance up, at her daddy approaching her and her mommy. Moving just her tiny hand, she held her arm up for Rick, opening and closing her tiny fist as calling for him. The small movement made both parents giggle like happy fools._

_"She's the most adorable baby ever." Rick said, resting his chin on Kate's shoulder and giving his finger for Johanna to wrap her tiny fingers around._

_"I know… Thank you for that, Castle." Glancing at her husband briefly, then Kate smiled. Rick calmly used his free hand to put a lock of hair behind her ear, looking right into her eyes with his lips approaching hers for a tender kiss._

_"I love you, Kate."_

The doorbell woke up Kate from her thoughts. She blinked a few times and looked at the time. Rick had already token the lead and opened it, paying the delivery man for their Chinese meal. Rick quickly brought the bags to the table and it was when Kate finally moved to him. Johanna was finally asleep in her room, but both parents could not even close their eyes, worried about the young girl.

"It smells good." The writer said, opening the packages and setting them down on the table.

"Indeed it is. How much was it?" Kate asked then, giving him a shy smile. As much as it was nice of him, they were not together anymore and it felt a little awkward.

"Let this one to me."

"Rick…"

"It's just a meal, Kate. Please. I insist." He looked at her, hoping that they not start to fight now. Castle remembered how it all started, little arguments, sleeping in different rooms, making up and fighting again right after. And now there they were. Divorced.

"Okay." Kate sighed then, surprisingly giving up and nodding. "Next time is with me."

"Deal." Breathing a sigh of relief, Castle nodded and handed her the order.

The two sat on the couch, both of them at each corner and ate silently. Kate had her feet on the furniture and was lost in her thoughts. She was remembering the flashback that came to her, the result of something they had commented in the car about how Johanna had always been a scandalous one when it came to crying. She caught herself thinking of the first weeks home with her, how Castle was always there and the three of them had fun together.

"You remember how she'd always cry in the morning and you'd pick her up even if it was me who had to breast feed her?" Kate shot up suddenly, after swallowing her food and making up a theory.

"Yea… I wanted to get more time with her because she'd always prefer being in your arms. And there was the whole breast feeding part being an advantage too." He said as a chuckle escaped and he glanced her. "Why?"

"I think that's the reason she gets so calm in your presence now." Kate looked at Rick. "She knows you're the one who'll go right away when she cries…"

"You think so?" She nodded. "Then that must be a good thing, I passed the right message. Because it's true."

"I think it's a good bond."

"I do too." Looking down to his food box, the man sighed a bit. It was different now, because he couldn't always be there for his kid. And what he was afraid of was losing that bond they've somehow created.

"You miss her, I know that, Rick…" It pained her to see Rick like this, knowing it was all her fault because of the foolish decision she had made. Now her daughter was being private of being with her father, the man who loved and cared deeply about them both.

"I miss you, Kate. I get to be with her all the time and have fun with her. But not with you, and I miss it. I miss you." The words came out surprising both. The two knew that, but the fact he was just spontaneously putting it out was different. Kate missed him too, she missed him badly, and how he said that so honestly made her lose not only her words, but also her breath.

Castle noticed that when he glanced back at her. "I'm sorry, I just… I don't know. Sorry."

Nodding, the woman bit her lower lip. Calmly, Kate placed the box on the table in front of her and stood up briefly, just to sit down next to him. She took his box off his hands, doing the same she had done with hers, just to be able to hold the man's hands, caressing it with her thumbs. "We- I screwed us up. I got distant of you and I asked for a divorce… Which I know I also never really explained to you why. But," making a pause to breath, Kate bit her lip "I never meant for us to become like this. It ended up confusing but I always wanted us to continue being friends. And I still want that, your friendship."

"It's not that easy, Kate." He sighed and looked at her. Once it had been enough just being her friend, but now, that they had tasted what was being together, he was not sure if he could handle less. "I don't know if your feelings have changed, but mine haven't. It's hard to be just your friend when all I want to do is kiss and hold you every second I breathe." Looking at her, he moved closer his hands reaching her face, cupping her cheeks and pulling her to him, making their foreheads touch. Kate didn't pull away, letting just a gasp escape when he was just a breathe away.

"Rick…" Mumbling, she couldn't resist but to make their noses touch, sobbing with no tears. She couldn't, she had to resist for their own good. "Please, don't do this to us." When she closed her eyes, Rick could have kissed her because she'd give herself into it, but he didn't even though their faces stood basically glued.

"I won't give up on you, Kate. I never will. Once I made you a promise and I will still keep it… I'll be here, always." Whispering, he felts tempted to kiss her as to seal it. But he didn't. Instead, he pulled away taking a deep breath to cool his thoughts down. "If you want to be friends, alright… I'll be your friend, like I always was…"

"T-Thank you…" With her weak voice failing, Rick looked at her and sighed. She didn't seem normal, it was like something went up there, like she was hiding something from him. But he won't question it now, not just yet.

Moving closer again, this time he wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her to his chest where she curled closely. "You must be tired… Let me take you to bed, ok?" Kate didn't protest, she simply nodded while Richard helped her up and conducted her to the room. Her head was too confused to think straight and as much as she wanted to invite Rick to her bed and just sleep in his arms like she used to do to calm down while they had been married, she didn't. She couldn't.

"Goodnight." Kate whispered though.

"Sleep well. Call me if anything, I'll be in the living room." He told her, after placing a kiss on her forehead. And with her nod, he left the room, leaving the door half open.

Walking back to the living room, he heard while she burst into tears. Castle didn't know what was going on, but he knew there was something and he'd figure out very soon.


	3. Chapter 3 - Complicated, but happy

**Hello, everyone! Thank you all so much for the lovely reviews, follows and favorites that you've put this fic, makes me feel extremely honored for having such amazing people reading my work. The next chapter is like a thank to it, so it's a bit more fluffy, with more flashbacks and****_ all that jazz. _****Hope you enjoy it. Eventually some of the storyline will come around more to explain why they're in this situation, but for now I just want to give some of divorced-but-still-in-love-couple interaction ;) 'Till next chapter, mwah!**

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Sleeping in the living room made Rick wake up earlier than the other two women in the place, since the sun would pass through the window and go straight to his face. That made him regret not remembering to close the blinds of the room. Rick got up slowly, stretching his back while he yawned. Castle checked on Kate and then Johanna, making sure they were both asleep and alright. Thank goodness she had managed to sleep. Knowing Kate, he knew that the way their baby girl was, it would be enough for her to stay up all night long.

And it was a good thing the two were still asleep, because it gave him time to head to the kitchen and check what was inside the fridge, planning on a nice breakfast. Castle always believed that food was needed to keep everyone moving and that nothing was better than eggs, pancakes, bacon and chocolate syrup to cheer someone's mood. And that was exactly what he did, preparing all the food for the three of them, although he knew Johanna would only have a pancake with the chocolate and her morning bottle. It still refreshed him, knowing that he was doing something for his little one.

It was a rare occasion where Rick could share some kind of moments with Johanna. Due to Kate's work, Jo would stay with him sometimes during the week, when her grandpa Jim was busy. Ever Monday-Thursday it was Kate's days and Friday-Sunday, it was Rick's days. But of course sometimes there were unforeseen situations and Johanna would go to Castle's loft, and vice-versa. It still wasn't enough for the him because he loved to spoil his girls. Thus, it felt really great to be there for Johanna when she was sick.

That's why he made all this meal with much love and effort, placing all this feat beautifully mounted in the dish plates; Johanna's being put on her little Nemo bowl that he gave to her when the three of them went to Disneyland before the divorce. It felt like home to him, to be doing that like the old times. And it made him more than happy.

"You made breakfast?" A groggy female voice asked, leaning against the doorframe, with a beautiful morning smile posted on her lips. When Rick looked up to that view, he lost his breath.

Kate wore small shorts and a large t-shirt, that he could bet that it once belonged to him. Her hair was messy, like when he saw her in the morning after they had sex for the first time, years ago. Castle remembered that night perfectly – it was the same day she came to him and apologized, when all their story that he had been picturing from the past four years finally started happening. More than that night, he remembered the morning that his mother and Alexis interrupted but before it, he had the chance to take a good look at her. And she looked like that now. Well, not completely.

Rick could see the bags under her eyes and the worried look, that had been there since he arrived the previous night. But today he could see a smile, that eased the tension that was in the air because of Johanna's sickness.

"I thought it'd be appropriate." Castle replied, blinking quickly. He only stood a few seconds glancing at her, with a foolish smile. But it seemed different, like it lasted an eternity, in fact. "Since you invited me to stay over and let me help take care of Jo."

Kate chuckled with his words, that made her shake her head and take a few steps to the kitchen counter, on the other side of where he stood. "You didn't need to, she's _our_ daughter, so of course I'd let you stay and help." Placing her hands on the wooden table that has the same height up to her hips, the brunette nodded to continue. "This looks tasty… Pancakes huh?"

"Yours and Jo's favorite, I couldn't resist" Castle shrugged with a clever smile and he accidentally let a wink escape, making him a bit embarrassed. Kate only laughed, while her eyes searched the floor and she shook her head again. "Are you hungry?" Castle asked.

"Yes." Kate nodded, looking up at him and smiling softly. He liked her smile, far too much. It'd always light up something in his heart, give his chest a warm and tender feeling.

"We can start eating before Jo gets up, if you want." He suggested, turning around to the cabinets and drawers, remembering where the cutlery used to stay and grabbed forks and knives.

"She's up already… I was just checking if you were too but I found breakfast already made." Kate told him with a laugh. Johanna had probably woken up when he was cooking. Maybe it was the medicine the doctor prescribed that made her sleepy in the morning, or maybe she was just reducing the crying.

"Oh, alright, great! We could all eat together." He said in a truly excited tone, that made Kate giggle.

"Okay, I'll grab her then." With his nod after her words, she turned back to the kitchen with a smile, going to her daughter's room.

In her crib, Johanna smiled giving her mother a soft giggle when she got in the room. She quickly stood up on her feet, holding on the bars of the crib to support her weight. Jo jumped without moving, as in a happy dance. It was good to see her like that, refreshed and renewed. Kate indeed always trusted Rick's promise that their daughter would be alright. But somehow it always surprised her. The medicine seemed to be working, although Kate could still see the sniffing and coughing of the young baby. But what mattered most was that she was getting better.

Approaching the crib and picking her up with a smile, Kate filled her sweet cheek with kisses, caressing her soft brown hair while she held her against her chest.

"Good morning, sweet heart." Nuzzling her forehead, Kate took her baby to the changer, checking on her diaper that was surprisingly clean. In the meantime, Jo mumbled gibberish words that made Kate laugh. She knew that soon, Jo would be speaking nonstop, just like her daddy. "Come on, let's have breakfast. Daddy made pancakes."

"Anesk!" The child celebrated, clapping her hands happily in her mom's arms and she put Kate's face between her tiny hands, just to hold her and to kiss her nose. That truly made Kate laugh, loudly in fact, because that was something she often saw Rick doing with the young girl.

"Your father teaches you such things…" Kate shook her head while moving to the kitchen and kissing her daughter's tiny nose.

"What do I teach her?" Rick asked, looking up at his two girls, with a light smile. He had set all the breakfast on the dining table, just waiting for them. And with his voice echoing on the room, both Jo and Kate glanced at him, the first giving a happy giggle and the former a sweet smile.

"To kiss people's nose, like you do to her." She rolled her eyes although a smirk sat on her lips. Beckett sat Jo on the baby chair on the right side of the table. Rick chuckled as he watched her, and gave a small shrug to her words.

"Well, I can't resist this tiny and cute nose." He said approaching Johanna, leaning over and giving her plenty of kisses on the spot he mentioned while tickling her, extracting sonorous laughs from the young girl.

Now seating on the left side, right in front of Johanna, leaving the head of the table to Rick, Kate watched the scene with a bright and huge smile letting out even some chuckles. He was by far the best father she had ever seen. Of course her own never got on those counting, he never would, after all Jim was _her daddy_. But between all men, fathers, which Kate had seen throughout her life, Rick was the best one. Kate saw it on Jo too, how the baby loved him being around and the way the two played as if they were the same age.

_"What's the matter with taking her to the park?" A pouty Rick asked the detective behind her desk. The man held his daughter on his arms while Katerine B. Castle rolled her eyes at him. Those times, when he wanted to simply go out and take Johanna to the park while she was covering shifts on the precinct, Kate was never sure if it was just to piss her off or it was because he was just as childish as Johanna and he wanted to play there too. In both cases it was immature and it reminded her a lot of the Rick she first met._

_ "Because she's only a year old, Rick…" She shook her head a little._

_"And?"_

_"And she can't go to a park with a bunch of big kids running around her!" She exclaimed as if he just grew two heads though he didn't seem to notice. In fact it never worked with him because the man was Richard Castle, a nine-year-old on a sugar rush._

_"She's walking and running already, Kate, c'mon. We take her to the park every weekend." He insisted, in an almost crying voice, practically begging Kate._

_"That's right, we _BOTH_ take her. Not you, by yourself" Kate gave him a simple roll of her eyes, just like Lanie used to do and went back to signing the papers on her desk._

_"Ah-ha! I see it now. You're jealous." He said with a clever smirk._

_"What?!" The cop said in shocked voice. Deep inside she was punching herself for being so obvious and letting him catch her this way. Of course she was jealous, and not only for him taking their daughter there without her presence._

_"You're jealous cause we're going without you." Rick said in a now sweet, teasing voice. It was clear that he guessed perfectly what was going on there. As a matter of fact, he found that cute._

_"Who said you're going?" Raising her brows at him, she said with a serious tone and look, that made him shake his guard. Rick found it as charming and sexy as it was threatening and scary. But the four were a good combination. "And I am not jealous."_

_"You're so jealous!" He laughed then, in a winning tone that made her death stare only increase._

_Johanna moved on her father's arms, waking up from her sleep. She mumbled some words and then straightened up her spine when she saw where they were. Johanna loved the precinct, maybe because everybody there spoiled her. And once awake, she put all her effort to climb off of Rick's arms. Quickly he put her down and watched as she carefully staggered to Ryan, mumbling something._

_"She'll fall, Rick." Kate warned, looking at her daughter with a frown._

_"She's fine." Rick insisted. But then the two lost their breath when she stumbled and almost fell. Luckily, Ryan saw it in time and picked her up with a laugh._

_"Watch out, young lady." The detective said with a smile as he held the baby. Esposito moved from his chair and approach the two, smiling widely at the young girl._

_"Yo, buddy! It's been forever since you last came to see your awesome uncle Espo!" The man said with a cheeky smirk, tickling Jo that laughed twitching on Ryan's arms._

_"With you doing these faces to her, she won't ever want to come again." Ryan said noticing how Esposito made faces to Johanna, that somehow she seemed to love it. Quickly she was making her way to the other detective's arms, making Ryan roll his eyes but continue to play with her._

_"See. She's fine." Getting his attention back to Kate, Rick smiled. She gave him an angry stare, but he was already expecting that, especially after his tease._

_"I have a bunch of paper work to do, Rick." Kate announced, moving her eyes back to the papers._

_"Solved the murder?" He asked curiously and tried to look over her shoulders, Kate just rolled her eyes and let him, knowing they'd talk about it anyways when she got home. It was in fact better to talk now, it'd give them more time to do _other things_ later._

_"Yes. That one of the girl inside the bathtub… It was surprisingly not the stepbrother but the owner of the apartment, who she was secretly having an affair with." She told him, looking up to Rick who had a cocky smirk. He had come up with the theory that she could be having an affair. Those were the things she missed most about him working with her, but at least they got to do it at home or when she called him during the day._

_"I knew it! Ha! Very good, detective, caught the bad guy again." Rick said and leaned in to peck her lips. That was the only advantage of not working with her, he could always do that. Just kiss his wife, in front of everyone, no hiding. Of course she blushed and hit him most of the time, like now, but it only made him like doing it even more._

_"I always do." Kate said with a raised brow and a cocky smirk, that seemed to have passed from his lips to hers._

_"Now I shall go, take Jo to the par-"_

_"No." Kate interrupted him, roughly._

_"Kate…" Rick cried out, making a pout again. His pouts would soften her heart and he knew it quite well. And she knew that he knew, it just pissed her of even more. "Why not?"_

_"Because I don't want her there without me…" Kate said, in a half lie._

_"You don't trust me enough to take care of our daughter?" The man asked with a heartbreaking disappointed voice._

_"No… It's not that, Rick." Sighing, Kate pointed for him to seat on the chair, next to her work table. "I just like to be with you two and…" The detective stopped when her teeth looked for her lower lip, pressing heavily against them._

_"And?"_

_"And I don't like how all the nannies stare at you." Snorting, Kate looked away, because she hated to admit that she was jealous._

_Richk thought of saying his usual 'What?' and say it was nothing like that, but he saw it truly bothered her. So he thought for a few seconds, formulating the right and truthful words to tell her. It was something that enchanted him, how she got when she's jealous. It was something irrational because if she stopped and thought about it, she'd see it was crazy that he'd care about a nanny when he had her, Katherine Castle, his stunning wife._

_"Kate, the nannies may look but I don't and won't ever care. Because I am only focused on our daughter and I have at home the most remarkable, maddening, challenging, frustrating person I have ever met." The fact that he mentioned the same words of the day they had the biggest fight of their lives, and also the same they the two finally got back together, touched her heart. Every time they argued, he'd always tell her that. One time, after having one of those fights, he confessed to her that he always did it because it was the only thing that worked to make her see how much he loved her. Kate would laugh and hit him for it, but she loved it. "You are also the most stunning, fascinating and sexiest detective of the whole NYPD You think I'd care about any nanny?" He asked her, resting his elbow on her desk and his chin on his hand, looking straight at her._

_After that she could not help but melt, biting her lower lip while glancing at the man of her dreams, her partner, her soul mate, as Rick would always joke. Damn, she loved him so much and his smile would just go straight to her heart that denying him anything was impossible._

_"Fine… You got me." She chuckled, looking down then, because his look and smile were taking her breath away. "You two can go."_

_"If it bothers you, we won't. I don't want you feeling jealous and insecure." He grabbed her hand as he spoke and leaned in kissing her cheek, like he did on that day when he stole the files of the first case they worked together. "I'll take her to Toys R Us instead." Rubbing his thumb on her hand, Castle smiled as he saw her slowly melting._

_"You don't need to, Rick…" Kate insisted now, feeling a bit guilty._

_"No, we'll go to the park other day. Just the three of us." He said firmly but sweet, with a brief nod._

_"Okay." Agreeing, she leaned in to kiss her husband. There were rare occasions she'd initiate the kiss herself, at least in the precinct, but Kate just felt like doing it now. Mostly because of how sweet he was being. "Your sweetness will be rewarded later." She whispered with a smirk._

_"Oh." Rick smirked a little, kind of losing his breath with all the thoughts that came to his mind. "I'll remind you of that."_

_"You won't need to." Kate bit her lower lip and she discretely whispered "I won't forget. And neither will you." And with a small wink, the brunette pulled back, leaving her husband frozen for a few seconds._

_With mouth and throat dry, Rick ran his mouth through his lips and chuckled awkwardly, not sure why he was doing it. Taking a deep breath and finally smiling, he stood up and looked at Kate, that had a winning look on her eyes._

_"See you later, Rick."_

_"Yea, see you later, Kate." He said, pecking her lips and leaving a little lost. Kate watched with a laugh while he picked up Johanna who was with Espo and walked out of the precinct with a foolish smile on his lips._

"Kate?" She shook her head a little when she heard Rick's voice next to her, the memory had gotten to her and she was not sure how long it lasted since it seemed to run in real time in her mind. But glancing at Jo's plate of pancake, it probably had been only brief seconds.

"Yes? Sorry… I was thinking about something." She said with a embarrassed smile, looking at him briefly and then back to her plate. "You said something?"

"No, no. You just seemed a bit away." Rick said with a shrug, frowning a bit because it seemed odd to see her all this distant. He thought it could

be his presence that she didn't like or wasn't used to anymore. Rick wasn't going to think about it now though.

"Oh, okay." He nodded, grabbing some of the bacon and eating. "Is it a case that's worrying you?" Not helping the curiosity, the man asked, looking at Johanna who seemed entertained with passing chocolate syrup on her cheeks.

"Honey, you're getting all dirty." Kate chuckled to Johanna, noticing the same thing then. Rick grabbed a napkin and cleaned her right cheek, leaning over in an attempt to do the same with the other, but it was when Johanna thought it was a game and leaned away laughing. Both parents chuckled.

"Jo!" Rick said grinning when the girl grabbed more chocolate and dirtied the clean cheek again. "I'll get you, young lady!" He said with a fake mad face that made the baby laugh even more. Rick gave up on trying cleaning for now and just focused on his meal.

"It's not any case though." Kate continued on their previous subject, sipping on the fresh orange juice he made. "Uhm, this is great." She mentioned raising her glass as to show what exactly.

"Ah, thanks." The writer grinned, pleased that she liked it. One of the many things Rick knew was how to make a perfect delicious meal. It was one of the advantages of being a writer and working at home, although many times he'd starve because there wasn't time to eat when all the ideas were floating on his head. "So, what's worrying you? Is it the sickness?"

"No, I'm more calm about it now." Pausing, she placed her glass down and smiled over him. "I'm not worried, I was just remembering something. When Jo was younger and you wanted to take her to the park." Kate chuckled, remembering the memory.

Rick smiled over that. He remembers that one specific day quite well and although it used to be something completely normal of their days, he liked that she remembered that specifically, because of all the loving things he got to say to her in the occasion. Which made him wonder what brought her back to that moment.

"I remembered, you were worried about her being too young." And the nannies that'd try to flirt with him, which now he'd notice to happen a lot when he took Jo to the park or pretty much anywhere. But he preferred not to mention it now.

"Yes and you was sure she'd be fine although she was just starting to walk." Kate raised a brow and chuckled, and Rick nodded.

"We ended up going to the toy store and buying her dolls." Rick shrugged remembering it too, every detail.

"And I met up with you two after and we went to dinner at Times Square."

"Dinner at Times Square." Rick said the same time she did, making the two smile. Kate looked away, but he kept his eyes on her. Rick remembered when they used to complete each other's sentences all the time before starting to date.

"It's been a while…" She said then, as to herself.

"Of what?" He asked a bit confuse.

"That I had dinner there." She said as she sipped her juice again after briefly looking at Rick. He saw a great opportunity there, something he could really not throw away. Because in his mind she'd not throw the dinner thing without a reason.

"Would you like to go there tonight?" The writer asked with a smile. "I mean, I've been wanting to eat out anyways." Shrugging, he gave her a smile. "We could take Jo to Central Park and have dinner there."

Kate smiled. Rick was a clever man, he took any information and used for what was convenient. His smart brain was something she admired far too much. In her normal days right after their divorce, an invitation like that would rarely happen and when it did, she'd find some excuse. Kate didn't want to. It was indeed too risky to be seen with him and it would make all the sacrifices she made not worthy anymore, because of the deal of staying away from him. But for today, Kate did not want to think about any of those things. So she'd just pray for it to all work well.

"We'd love to. Now wouldn't we Jo?" She smiled and looked at her daughter who giggled without even knowing what was on.

"Great!" Rick was a bit shocked, but he was happy to see that she had accepted his invitation. "I just need to change and get a better coat."

"Okay, you go after breakfast and then we can meet back here." Kate suggested, it'd be good for her to have some time to take a shower and make Johanna have a nap. This way, the little girl would be awake during their dinner.

"Alright, perfect." Rick was clearly exploding of happiness, but trying his best to contain it. Kate couldn't deny she was too after all, she missed him more than anyone she had ever lost. She had to try getting back to him, because deep inside, the detective knew he was the only one who could save her, who could save the three of them, from all the hell she had been going through.


	4. Chapter 4 - Nightmares

**Hello, readers. How are you doing?! Thanks a lot for all the reviews you've been sending, you're all lovely :3 This chapter took a bit longer because I rewrote it down the road, so I apologize for it. Hope you enjoy it though. And thanks a loooooot to my friend and beta Cami, who's constantly helping me with plot lines and correcting my terrible errors. I can guarantee everyone that there are big things planned for here coming out of my conversations with her ;)**

**Without any further adds, good reading!**

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NOTE, this chapter was edited because somehow the website ate my first paragraph of the post... So I just added it here. I'm sorry about it, everyone.

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The phone of the precinct rang twice, in the middle of all its madness and noises, before Kate Beckett picked it up on her work desk. "Beckett." She mumbled her name, being too concentrated on some paperwork she had been working on. It was Ryan, with a cut voice that instantly made Katherine frown her brows together. His voice was not the usual neutral, although upset, while announcing there had been a murder. It was actually deep, and he didn't just say 'we got a body, can you meet us here in 30 minutes?', no… It had been a deep voice, slightly desperate. And the exact words had been: "We… There's been a murder… You need to come here, Kate." He didn't call her Beckett, nor passed the cop standard instructions.

And then he passed her the address, making Kate swallow hard. "I'm on my way." Upper East Side, where Richard's loft was located. Very closely to it, in fact. And Johanna was staying there for a few days. It had actually been almost a week since the last time Kate saw her baby girl. The work getting her far too full to get any small time to go there meet the baby. At least that was how she has justified to Richard all those days. Not that he bothered being around Johanna all the time, but the child was missing her far too much.

Although now her instincts told her something bad was going on, she knew for sure that Castle would have called if something was going on with her Jo. Just to be sure though, while she left the precinct, the cop dialed her ex-husband's number on her phone. It went straight to voicemail, which was odd to Castle, he would at least have it turned. Kate tried to put it aside while driving, she was sure nothing had happened; it was all just her concerned mother's heart.

She drove fast though, with the sirens turned on to pass through the traffic areas, that weird feeling stood still in her heart. The body wasn't going anywhere but she needed to get there soon. From her car, as it approached the crime scene, she could glance people pilling up around the black and yellow tape, while some cops tried to keep the bunch of reporters away. People and photographers meant always that it was a known victim and that tightened even more her throat.

Kate parked and got off the car as it was all a single movement, circling the crime scene next, wanting to avoid the press loading questions over something she didn't even know what was yet. It was only after she stepped the police tape, that everything started happening too fast. The first thing she saw was Lanie. Her gloves were somehow full of blood, and then, next to her and turned back to Kate, was a red-haired one. Alexis didn't need to turn around for her to recognize the girl. But when she did, Kate saw Johanna in her arms. She let a breath escape, seeing her daughter safe. Although the tightness in her throat stood there. Jo seemed somehow scared, and with tearing eyes. She finally faced Alexis, whose eyes seemed an unstoppable river. Everything froze then, Kate's eyes ran around and everyone looked so apprehensive and worried to her and the bad feeling made her gasp. She found then the blue blanket, covering the body. Her mouth opened to ask what was going on, but no words came out of it. So she ran, approaching the dead body. The woman fell on her knees right next to it, as she knew already what had happened. But only when she pulled the blanket off, that the cop saw what her intelligent mind had predicted and her in love heart had denied: Richard Castle was dead. A bullet craved in the middle of his chest. Just the way it had happened to her.

Slow and painful tears rolled down her cheeks to his lifeless, yet peaceful, features. Kate was unable to contain them, nor she wanted it. The sobs took care of her and the cop felt the need to scream. Her hands looked for her face, because she refused to admit what was right in front of her. She mumbled unknown words.

"Kate…" She recognized to be Lanie's voice calling for her, but the woman didn't move to look over her. "Kate, we tried everything… I arrived here after Alexis called and he was still alive. He fought to live, but we couldn't do anything… I'm so sorry, Kate." And the statement wasn't doing anything to help her. If only she had been by his side, maybe, just maybe, she could have saved him. Like he did to her when the same occurred.

The cop felt her scar hurt, the one in the middle of her chest, while she remembered the time she got shot during Montgomery's funeral. Her hand then moved to it, touching the place Castle had kissed many times while they were in bed together making love. He'd always say to her, that his kisses would help it heal, help all her scars heal until the day they didn't bug her anymore. And he did, he helped her. But now all the scars just seemed to be coming back again. All opening and bleeding at the view of Castle's dead body, drowning her life away along with his.

Bursting down into tears once more, Beckett leaned over him, resting her forehead rested on his shoulder. No one had ever seen Kate like that, never.

"W-What…?" She managed to mumble, between a sob and a sniff, while the tears kept on rolling.

"He was walking with Alexis and Jo, and someone shot him. Alexis said she didn't even see anyone, he just fell back bleeding, and there wasn't even a noise." They killed him in cold blood, in front of his daughters, in the middle of the street. What kind of freaking bastard would be able to this? Her scar hurt again, making her sob. "This was in a dumpster nearby, Espo found it but he didn't read it. It has your name on…" Lanie said and handled a paper to her, inside a plastic bag.

It was only then Katherine straightened up and swallowed hard, her tears rolling. She picked the bag, looking at the white and small envelope that had 'To Det. Kate Beckett' typed on it. The cop would not have bothered about protecting the evidence in the moment if it wasn't for Lanie handling a glove to her. She didn't put it on, but used it to hold the envelope and pull off the paper out of it. The tears made it harder for her to read it, but she managed to get the letters and thoughts together. _It's time to be afraid again…_

Kate woke up gasping for air, seating up straight on her bed. Her heartbeat was uncontrollably fast and her throat was dry. Moving her hand to the scar between her breasts, she let a breath escape, attempting to calm herself down. She got off bed, but checked the clock on the bedside table. 5:47 am. Great, now she wouldn't get back to sleep.

Stepping in the dark, the woman managed to walk to the living room and then briefly to Johanna's room, checking on the baby and making sure she was safe and asleep. All good, the young slept like an angel in the middle of all those stuffed pets that she loved deeply.

In the kitchen, Kate made herself a coffee to start the day and as the machine worked on it, she found herself going back to her room, picking something that was hidden in a pocket of her bag, which she rarely walked around with. Her words ran through the smashed piece of paper as she passed her eyes through it. '_It's time to be afraid again…'_ The same words from her dreams, and on the back of the paper, completing it, there was a machine typed '_To lovely NYPD detective Beckett_'.

It was obviously that damn treat that had gotten Kate worried and tense. Kate could have asked the guys from the precinct to help her out find out who the hell had left that to her on the mail box, but it'd be useless and would only get the two worried. Besides, no one but Kate knew what this was about. And no one else should ever know.

The noise of the coffee machine caught her attention again and she put the paper back where it was previously, remembering to close it zip tight. Not that anyone would just go inside her room and search through her bag, but she was a cop and it was in her nature to predict and prevent things.

Back on the kitchen the woman poured some coffee in the white and blue mug, taking a sip and making a face. It was crap. The powder had probably expired, Kate didn't even remembered the last time she went grocery shopping for herself. Usually she'd only stop by the market to grab things that Johanna needed, because Kate truly hated to do grocery shopping. But it seemed she'd need to stop by for the sake of her coffee. Lately, she had only been grabbing take out coffees or simply drinking it at the precinct, but the nightmare didn't help.

Oddly, her phone rang on the other room. With a frown, the woman glanced over the kitchen's clock, that now marked 6:03 am. Certainly it was not the alarm clock, since she had the day off. The woman moved to her room and surprisingly, it was Richard's picture on the screen.

"Hello…" She said in an awkward voice.

"_Hi, Kate. I'm sorry I'm calling so early… Did I __wake __you up?_" Richard asked with a surprised voice, it did not seem, by the sound of the woman's voice, that she had been asleep. He knew well how grumpy she sounded when she was woken up.

"Oh, no. I just woke up a few minutes ago…" Kate said with a sigh.

"_You had a nightmare?_" It was so awkward sometimes of how much he knew about her.

"I- Hm, no. I just had to… Well, yes. But it doesn't matter… What do you want so early?" The cop asked with a more serious voice at the end, annoyed with herself for sounding so weak before.

"_Oh… Is everything okay_?" The man insisted though. She rolled her eyes, knowing it'd be impossible to explain the nightmare that she had if she ever told it to him. But deep inside she was glad to know Rick still worried this much.

"I'm fine." Kate said far too cold, and it always would give Rick a shiver down his spine.

"_Well, I called because I'm going to the Hamptons this weekend and I wanted to take Jo with me._" He said, his tone getting somehow more polite and less worried, because of the snap she offered him. "_I wanted to know if I can pick her up earlier, around 8 o'clock, maybe?_"

"Oh." She frowned. It was almost the weekend so Rick could do whatever he wanted, although the idea of her daughter going to the Hamptons again, after she had just recovered from a flu she caught there still bothered the mother. "You really going to the Hamptons, Castle? She just recovered…"

"_Exactly, she's fine and won't get the same flu twice. Martha is going out of town for the weekend and Alexis is too busy working on some college projects. So I guessed I should do something fun with Jo._" He didn't actually know why he was explaining himself so much to Kate, because in fact he really didn't need to. After 10 o'clock Johanna was his until 6:00 pm on Sunday. But even with all the complicated relationship and the way it ended between them, Kate was still Jo's mother and he respected that.

"Well, the weekend is always yours… I can't really do anything about it anyways." Kate shrugged to herself and nodded too. "You can pick her up at 8. She's still asleep but I'll get her things ready now."

"_Thank you, Kate._" He said in a more soft voice, already letting a smile grow back to his lips. "_Working this weekend?_"

"No, no… I'm taking this weekend off." Kate shrugged to herself. With Jo out of town she'd not be able to convince Castle to bring the baby back home earlier since she had the weekend off. Like Kate had done before, she would tell him he could spend another day with Johanna over the week when she had to actually be at work. So the woman would probably try to relax at home or just go to the precinct and see if anyone needed any help. It would be a boring weekend off, surely.

"_Oh, really? That's rare._" Both laughed, although Kate's tone was more ironical and Richard's more playful. "_Big plans?_" It was funny that he was trying to make conversation, but it had been good because got her mind of the nightmare. Hers and his mind…

"Oh well, I have this date with Josh…" Kate heard Castle go mute. Even with the death silence, she did not hear when his jaw tensed. "I'm just messing up with you, Castle." She laughed then, shaking her head. Kate knew well how much he despite Josh, as he had confessed a while after they married. "It'll be just me, popcorn, good movie." Katherine said and Richard let a chuckle escape, along with a deep breath of relief, shaking his head on the other side of the line. She knew how to mess with him.

"_Expected more, Beckett. Maybe a good book like the new Nikki Heat one that I sent you exclusively_." He said cheekily and Kate let a gasp and a laugh escape. Little did he know that she had already read it, twice.

"Nah, I'm not in the mood for it, read the first chapter but…" Making the pause on purpose, Kate tried to keep her laugh, pretending to be talking serious.

"_What?_" The writer asked with a slightly desperate voice. "_Is it that bad? You didn't like… Oh, no… Worse, you hated it! Beckett, please tell me, did I lose my talent?!_" He gasped and it was only then she chuckled.

"No, Castle. I do not hate it. I'm just busy, haven't found time to read it." The cop giggled to herself, happy he couldn't see it.

"_But what about chapter one?"_ It was actually one of the best volumes on the Heat series, but why admit it? It was so much more fun to make fun of him like that.

"I'll give you my impressions when I read it all." Kate said, as she'd always tell Castle. On her side of the line she heard him curse and although they could not see each other, the woman was able to picture the little boy face the man was doing now.

"_Fine, fine…_" Richard sighed, but Kate knew he'd eventually get back on the subject with her.

"So, you picking her at 8, I guess I'll see you then."

"Yes… I-" It was then that an idea occurred to the writer. "Hey, Beckett, you're really free for the weekend?"

"Yes. Why?" Kate frowned, unsure of why he was asking it.

"_What do you think about coming down with us?_" The man asked, smiling to himself for coming up with the brilliant idea in time. The Hamptons was always a good place and he was sure that would be good if he wanted to get closer to Kate again. Since working with her was not on board anymore. "_I mean __it__, it'll be fun. __You, me, Jo… Like the old times. __Besides, of course, I'll fit you comfortably in the guest's room._"

Kate bit her lower lip, not because she was considering it or not, but due to the last part. Going to the Hamptons and sleeping on separate beds, even bedrooms. That had never happened in all the times the couple stepped inside that beach house. Well, excluding when they'd fight and she'd force him to the couch. But even then, Kate would always go to the living room and crawl with him in the dead of night. "I don't know, Castle…" She said finally, after thinking. It'd be good, being around the two to make sure they were okay. After the dream, the brunette had this weird feeling that being around them could be a better option than being apart. Even if her and Rick weren't romantically involved she could still help protecting him.

"_C'mon, it'll be fun. Jo will love you there. I promise it'll be nice. It's a friendly trip, think it that way. And you love the Hamptons…"_ He tried to persuade her doing a begging voice, that made the cop sigh. Thinking for a few seconds, she looked around. Anywhere would be better than alone in her apartment.

"Fine, I'll go." She consented, keeping the smile that wanted to grow on her lips when he celebrated on the other side.

"_Great! It'll be very fun. I'll pick you two soon then._" The joy and surprise in Richard was inexplicable. As much as he wanted her to accept the invitation, the man never actually expected Kate to say yes. But now that she did, it was a shot to get them closer again. Things were already better than in the past weeks, so it was a good sign.

"Alright, I'll get mine and Jo's things ready. See you soon." Kate thought of saying, 'kisses, love you Rick', like she always did to him after they got married. It had been just an impulse, which luckily the brunette caught up in time.

"_See you._" He hung up and she fell back sitting down on the bed, still processing that she'd spend a whole weekend in the Hamptons with her ex-husband, whom she still obviously loved. Luckily, Johanna would be there too and things would be less awkward. Well, there was no going back now, she had already said yes. It was time to pack.


End file.
